Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 

lEx  ICtbrtB 

SEYMOUR  DURST 

-t '  'Tort  nie/iuv  ^m^erjam.  oj^  Je  MatthcLtans                           ^  Ji 

^^^^ 

FORT    NEW  AM.STERDAi^^^^^|^^  (MEW  YORK  )  ,  J65I. 

IVhen  you  leave,  please  leave  this  hook 

Because  it  has  heen  said 
" Ever' thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  hook." 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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http://archive.org/details/messageofdewittcOOnewy 


MESSAGE 


OF 


DE  WITT  CLINTON, 


LEGISLATURE 


STATE  OF  NEW-YORK, 


January,  1825. 


NEfV'YORK: 

Printed  and  Sold  by  G.  F.  Hopkins, 

No.  48  Pine-street. 


TO  THE 


OF  THE 


1825. 


.N572 


MESSAGE 


FelhiV'CitizejLS  of  the  Senate,  and  of  the  Assembly y 

Our  devout  thanks  are  due  to  Almighty  God,  for  the  signal 
blessings  conferred  on  our  country.  The  wise  policy  pursued  by 
the  National  Government  in  cherishing  our  resources,  in  diminish- 
ing our  debt,  and  in  cultivating  peace  with  all  the  world,  has  ele- 
vated our  character  abroad,  and  confirmed  our  prosperity  at  home. 
It  is  gratifying  to  perceive  the  greatest  maritime  Power  in  Eu- 
rope, with  which  we  are  closely  connected  by  commerce  and  com- 
munication, has  adopted  a  similar  pacific  policy;  and  that  the  un- 
hallowed conspiracies  in  the  old  world  against  the  liberties  of  man- 
kind, can  find  no  means  of  support  and  aggression  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic. 

Nor  has  our  National  Government,  while  cherishing  peace,  been 
unmindful  of  the  exigencies  of  war.  A  comprehensive  and  valu- 
able system  of  coast  defence  has  been  digested,  and  is  in  a  train  of 
successful  developement.  Fortifications,  in  the  most  vulnerable 
points,  have  been  erected.  The  War  Department  has  undergone 
a  thorough  and  comprehensive  re-organization,  adapted  at  once  to 
the  economy  of  a  peace,  and  the  expansive  requirements  of  a  war 
establishment.  Ordnance,  arms,  and  other  munitions,  have  been 
provided,  and  a  system  adopted  of  steady  and  progressive  accumu- 
lation. An  institution  for  military  education,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  scientific  and  talented  men,  is  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion ;  and  our  youth  are  not  only  instructed  in  war,  but  acquire 
that  information,  which  renders  them  useful  in  cultivating  the  arts 
of  peace.  Our  navy,  at  once  the  glory  and  the  palladium  of  our 
country,  is  in  a  state  of  prosperous  augmentation  ;  and  our  gallant 
and  hardy  seamen  are  increasing  their  nautical  skill,  protecting 
our  commerce,  and  maintaining  the  honour  of  our  flag  in  every  sea. 

These  views  naturally  spring  from  contemplating  the  situation 
of  our  country  and  of  Europe;  and  on  the  present  occasion  are  ex- 


4 


hibited  in  obedience  to  that  mandate  of  the  constitution,  which 
requires  from  the  Executive  periodical  information  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  community.  As  a  member  of  the  confederacy,  we  have 
a  vital  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  whole,  and  necessarily  par- 
ticipate in  the  common  lot. 

But  when  we  look  nearer  home,  and  examine  the  condition  of 
the  state,  without  reference  to  its  federal  relations,  we  have  equal 
reason  for  gratitude  to  the  Dispenser  of  all  good.  Our  elementary 
schools,  and  our  literary  institutions,  are  prosperous  beyond  all  for- 
mer experience :  the  lights  of  religion  and  knowledge  have  increas- 
ed :  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  navigation,  and  the  use- 
ful arts,  are  in  a  state  of  unprecedented  activity  and  successful  em- 
ployment. The  excitements  and  animosities  which  have  hitherto 
rent  us  asunder,  degraded  our  character,  and  impaired  our  ability 
for  doing  good,  are  yielding  to  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  concilia- 
tion. And  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  future  the  great  subject  of  com- 
petition, and  the  great  prize  of  ambition  will  be  confined  to  a  dis- 
tinguished career  of  public  spirit,  unalloyed  by  the  debasing  influ- 
ence of  faction,  which,  in  seeking  its  own  gratification,  by  the 
elevation  of  a  part,  generally  overlooks  the  prosperity  of  the 
whole.  Our  civil  and  political  institutions  are  derived  from  the 
wisdom,  and  exist  in  the  will  of  the  people,  the  source  of  all  right- 
ful authority,  and  of  all  legitimate  sovereignty.  Conceiving  it  to 
be  the  sacred  duty  of  public  servants,  entrusted  with  power  and 
authority  by  the  people,  to  consult  the  wishes  as  well  as  the  inter- 
ests of  their  constituents,  it  is  my  earnest  desire,  and  shall  be  my 
favourite  object,  to  recommend  that  course,  and  to  pursue  that  po- 
licy which  may  prove  the  most  gratifying  to  the  community,  and 
the  most  auspicious  to  the  great  interests  of  the  state.  And  in  se- 
lecting persons  for  olfices  of  power,  trust,  and  emolument,  it  will 
be  my  aim  to  look  for  capacity,  integrity,  patriotic  zeal,  and  pub- 
lic services.  The  times  are  auspicious  to  the  healing  of  those  dis- 
sentions,  which  have  so  long  interfered  with  our  general  happiness, 
and  so  greatly  diminished  the  just  consideration  of  the  state  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation.  As  far  as  in  my  power,  I  shall  be  happy 
to  embrace  this  auspicious  occasion,  and  make  every  proper  effort 
to  promote  internal  peace  and  tranquillity.  Having  iDeen  elected 
to  office,  not  by  a  party,  but  by  the  people,  it  is  my  ardent  wish 
to  cast  myself  upon  their  candor  and  judgment,  to  meet  their  scru- 
tiny, to  consult  their  will,  and  to  promote  their  happiness.  And 
I  shall  always  be  solicitous  to  cultivate  a  good  understanding  with 
the  co-ordinate  authorities,  and  to  produce  an  harmonious  union  of 
effort  for  the  public  good. 

To  establish  a  just  responsibility  in  the  Executive,  as  has  been 
done  in  the  legislative  department,  it  appears  to  me  that  provision 
ought  to  be  made  for  the  publication  of  the  journals  of  the  Senate, 
in  relation  to  their  executive  functions.  The  people  ought,  in  all 
cases,  to  know  the  official  acts  of  their  agents  :  And  as  the  appoint- 
ing power  is,  at  all  times,  an  important  trust,  and  liable  to  great 
abuse,  there  ought  to  be  no  veil  drawn  over  its  exercise ;  but  the 


6 


nominations  of  the  Governor,  and  the  vote  of  each  Senator  on  the 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  such  nominations,  should  be  distinctly- 
understood  by  the  people. 

In  1820,  while  administering  the  government,  I  solicited  the  at- 
tention of  the  legislature  to  the  importance  of  passing  a  law  by 
which  the  people  could  exercise  their  suffrages  in  the  choice  of 
electors  of  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  The 
whole  body  of  events  connected  with  this  subject  speak  an  admo- 
nitory language,  and  demonstrate  that  the  enaction  of  such  a  law 
is  anxiously  desired  by  the  people,  and  that  it  is  enjoined  by  a 
just  regard  for  their  rights,  and  by  the  dictates  of  true  policy. 
Whenever  the  people  can  enjoy  the  direct  exercise  of  power  them- 
selves, no  intermediate  bodies  should  be  interposed  ;  and  an  un- 
necessary resort  to  delegated  authority,  too  frequently  leads  to  an 
abuse  of  power,  a  prostration  of  principle,  and  a  total  disregard  of 
the  public  will.  It  is  sincerely  to  be  desired  that  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  coulS  be  so  altered  as  to  provide  for  a  uniform 
mode  of  choosing  electors  throughout  the  Union.  In  such  case,  the 
system  by  districts  would,  no  doubt,  be  most  judicious.  But 
while  the  mode  is  not  uniform,  sound  policy  seems  to  require  that 
the  choice  should  be  left  to  the  people  by  general  ticket,  and  in  the 
most  simple  and  popular  shape.  When  the  right  of  suffrage  is 
generally  diffused,  and  those  who  exercise  the  elective  franchise 
vote  by  a  general  ticket,  and  the  greatest  or  highest  number  con- 
stitutes an  election,  power  is  brought  to  the  people  in  the  most 
gratifying  and  unexceptionable  manner.  Ever  since  the  political 
existence  of  this  state,  all  our  elections  have  been  conducted  on 
the  principle  of  the  highest  number  of  votes,  in  the  whole  state, 
for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor;  in  districts,  for  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress;  in  counties,  for  members  of  As- 
sembly, and  now  for  Sheriffs  and  Clerks ;  and  in  towns,  for  super- 
visors, assessors,  clerks,  collectors,  and  constables ;  and  no  incon- 
venience has  resulted.  I  therefore  earnestly  and  respectfully  re- 
commend the  passing  of  a  law  committing  the  choice  of  electors 
to  the  people  by  a  general  ticket,  and  by  the  greatest  number  of 
votes,  as  a  proceeding  required  by  the  sovereign  authority  of  the 
state,  and  by  every  consideration  which  ought  to  govern  the  con- 
duct of  its  legislature.  The  statute  recently  passed,  submitting 
the  mode  of  choice  to  the  sense  of  the  community,  at  the  next  an- 
nual election,  does  not  interfere  essentially  with  this  measure  ;  and 
if  it  did,  it  ought  not  to  retard  or  prevent  its  immediate  consum- 
mation. The  voice  of  the  people  on  this  subject  has  been  audi- 
bly expressed,  and  it  was  certainly  a  work  of  supererogation  to 
resort  to  this  process,  the  tendency  of  which  will  be  to  perplex  a 
question  sufficiently  plain,  and  universally  understood,  to  postpone 
a  due  atonement  to  the  violated  majesty  of  the  people,  and  to  ex- 
clude you  from  the  merit  of  performing  this  great  duty. 

In  attending  to  the  election  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation, 
let  us  not  overlook  subjects  of  subordinate  consideration,  but  cer- 


6 


tainly  of  great  eousequence  to  the  welfare  and  good  order  in  so- 
ciety. 

B)^  the  constitution  a  complex  mode  of  choosing  justices  of  the 
peace,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  supervisors  of  towns, 
and  judges  of  the  county  courts,  is  established.  As  this  system 
has  been  found  inexpedient  in  its  operation,  and  exceptionable 
in  all  its  important  bearings,  I  recommend  such  an  alteration, 
through  the  forms  of  the  constitution,  as  shall  bring  the  choice  of 
these  magistrates  directly  home  to  the  people  in  their  primary  as- 
semblies. They  are  certainly  much  better  judges  of  the  claims 
and  qualifications  of  their  local  magistrates,  than  persons  at  a 
distance,  and  they  have  stronger  inducements  to  make  good  selec- 
tions. 

It  is  also  submitted  to  your  consideration  whether  it  would  not 
render  the  minor  courts  more  respectable,  and  promote  good  or- 
der, if  the  respective  towns  were  authorized  in  their  discretion  to 
provide  buildings  for  their  sittings. 

As  connected  generally  with  these  important  topics,  permit  me 
to  request  your  attention  to  a  more  accurate  definition,  a  more 
liberal  extension,  and  a  more  secure  enjoyment  of  the  elective 
franchise.  Without  the  right  of  suff'rage,  liberty  cannot  exist. 
It  is  the  vital  principle  of  representative  government,  and  it  ought 
therefore  to  be  effectually  fortified  against  accident,  design,  or 
corruption.  The  quaHfications  prescribed  by  the  constitution,  for 
the  exercise  of  this  invaluable  privilege,  are  full  age,  citizenship, 
residence  for  designated  time,  payment  of  an  assessed  tax,  to  the 
state  or  county,  or  exemption  from  taxation,  or  performance  of 
militia  duty  within  the  year,  armed  and  equipped  according  to 
law,  assessment  within  the  year,  to  labour  upon  the  public  high- 
ways, and  performance  of  the  labour  or  payment  of  an  equivalent. 
This  arrangement  excludes  a  great  body  of  citizens  from  the 
elective  franchise.  And  a  few  simple  illustrations  will  show  its 
complexity  and  its  liability  to  fraud  and  injustice. 

In  1818,  the  state  tax  was  two  mills  on  the  dollar:  since  that 
time  it  has  been  reduced  to  half  a  mill  on  the  dollar ;  and  in  a  short 
period  there  will  probably  be  no  necessity  for  any  general  tax.  If 
this  should  be  the  case,  aad  the  finances  of  all  or  any  of  the  coun- 
ties be  equally  prosperous,  there  would  evidently  be  a  disfranchise- 
ment of  all  those  who  are  not  taxed,  unless  they  had  performed 
military  duty  or  wrought  on  the  roads.  In  the  same  manner, 
householders  and  freeholders  may  be  deprived  of  the  right  of 
suftrage,  even  althoug;h  citizens,  residents,  and  of  full  age.  The 
rights  of  a  citizen  ought  not  to  be  held  at  the  pleasure  of  others, 
but  should  be  fixed  and  unchangeable.  But  in  both  these  cases  if 
the  assessor  should  not  assess,  the  collector  not  receive,  the  mili- 
tia not  be  called  out,  or  the  roadmaster  neglect  his  duty,  there 
would  be  a  deprivation  of  the  elective  franchise.  The  labour  of  a 
day  on  the  highway,  or  the  payment  of  a  petty  commutation ;  the 
attendance  of  a  day  at  a  military  parade,  or  the  payment  of  a  tax, 
however  meritorious  in  themselves,  certainly  do  not  furnish  such 


7 


high  evidence  of  public  services  by  the  agents,  as  to  justify  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  elective  franchise ;  and  such  I  am  persuaded  is  not 
the  wish  of  that  respectable  portion  of  the  community — I  therefore 
submit  to  your  consideration,  whether  the  constitution  ought  not 
to  be  so  modified,  as  to  render  citizenship,  full  age,  and  competent 
residence,  the  only  requisite  qualifications. 

In  thus  improving  our  social  institutions,  it  is  pleasing  to  con- 
template their  benign  influence  on  individual  happiness  and  gene- 
ral prosperity  ;  and  to  feel  assured  that  a  republican  government 
may  be  transmitted  in  full  purity  and  vigour  to  the  remotest  pe- 
riod of  time.  Even  the  troubled  democracies  of  Greece  and 
Italy,  with  all  their  deprecated  vices,  were  preferable  to  the  hateful 
tyrannies  that  surrounded  them.  The  former  were  sometimes 
relieved  by  ennobling  virtues ;  but  the  latter  were  always  en- 
gulfed in  hopeless  debasement.  Now  that  the  representative 
system  is  well  understood,  and  its  capacity  to  unite  liberty  and 
power  by  federal  combinations  has  been  successfully  tried,  it  will 
be  our  own  fault  if  its  duration  prove  not  as  permanent  as  its 
blessings  are  inestimable.  In  all  governments,  whether  repub- 
lican or  monarchcial,  free  or  despotic,  cupidity  and  ambition 
will  address  themselves  to  the  sovereign  authority  for  gratifica- 
tion. In  free  states,  these  applications  will  of  course  be  made  to 
the  people,  who  confer  either  directly  or  indirectly  the  honours 
and  emoluments  of  oflice  ;  and  hence  the  excitements  which  arise 
from  the  operations  of  these  passions  as  \Vell  as  real  differences 
of  opinion.  But  with  all  these  evils,  republics  still  exhibit  a 
decided  superiority.  Their  agitations  and  attendant  mischiefs, 
are  more  diffused  and  more  feeble.  And  the  people  who  feel  their 
influence  have,  generally  speaking,  no  inducement  to  act  wrong. 
It  is  their  interest  as  well  as  their  duty  to  select  meritorious 
officers,  and  to  establish  a  wholesome  administration.  The  vices 
of  faction,  intrigue,  falsehood,  dissimulation,  and  corruption,  are 
rendered  more  intensely  profligate  by  their  concentration  round 
the  person  of  the  monarch.  His  interest  and  that  of  his  favourites 
too  often  become  distinct  from  that  of  the  community,  and  the 
general  welfare  is  merged  in  personal  gratifications.  A  republican 
government  is  certainly  most  congenial  with  the  nature,  most 
propitious  to  the  welfare,  and  most  conducive  to  the  dignity  of 
our  species.  Man  becomes  degraded  in  proportion  as  he  loses 
the  right  of  self-government.  Every  effort  ought  therefore  to  be 
made  to  fortify  our  free  institutions ;  and  the  great  bulwark  of 
security  is  to  be  found  in  education — the  culture  of  the  heart  and 
the  head — the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  piety,  and  morality.  A 
virtuous  and  enlightened  man  can  never  submit  to  degradation ; 
and  a  virtuous  and  enlightened  people  will  never  breathe  in  the 
atmosphere  of  slavery.  Upon  education  we  must  therefore  rely 
for  the  purity,  the  preservation,  and  the  perpetuation  of  repub- 
lican government.  In  this  sacred  cause  we  cannot  exercise  too 
much  liberality.  It  is  identified  with  our  best  interests  in  this 
world,  and  with  our  best  destinies  in  the  world  to  come. — 


8 


Much  indeed  has  been  done,  and  we  have  only  to  cast  our  eyes 
over  the  state,  and  rejoice  in  the  harvest  which  it  has  already 
yielded.  But  much  more  remains  and  ought  to  be  done :  and  the 
following  statement  is  exhibited  with  a  view  to  animate  you  to 
greater  exertion. 

The  number  of  children  taught  in  our  common  schools  during 
the  last  year,  exceeds  400,000,  and  is  probably  more  than  one 
fourth  of  our  whole  population.  Ten  thousand  three  hundred  and 
eighty-three  have  been  instructed  in  the  Free  and  Charity  Schools 
in  the  city  of  New- York, — a  number  by  no  means  proportioned  to 
the  wants  of  its  population.  The  students  in  the  incorporated 
academies  amount  to  about  2,683,  and  in  the  colleges  to  755. 

The  fund  of  the  common  schools  may  be  stated  at  upwards  of 
1,739,000  dollars ;  and  its  annual  income  at  98,000  dollars,  to 
which  may  be  added  the  interest  on  the  future  sales  of  lands,  and 
on  the  disposal  of  escheated  property,  the  proceeds  of  which  latter 
item  may  be  added  to  the  capital. 

However  imposing  this  fund  may  appear,  it  is  sufficiently  ob- 
vious that  it  ought  to  be  augmented.  This  state  is  capable  of  sup- 
porting fourteen  millions  of  inhabitants.  This  appropriation  will 
therefore  soon  be  found  far  behind  the  progress  of  population  and 
the  requisitions  for  instruction. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  momentous  nature  of  this  department 
of  our  social  policy  to  the  cardinal  interests  of  the  state,  I  cannot 
withhold  one  important  fact  derived  from  past  experience.  Of  the 
many  thousands  who  have  been  instructed  in  our  free  schools  in 
the  city  of  New- York,  there  is  not  a  solitary  instance  known  of 
any  one  having  been  convicted  of  crimes.  In  furtherance  of  this 
invaluable  system,  I  recommend  to  your  consideration  the  educa- 
tion of  competent  teachers  on  the  monitorial  plan,  its  more  general 
introduction,  and  the  distribution  of  useful  books. 

While  our  primary  schools  cannot  be  too  numerous,  our  highest 
seminaries  ought  to  be  very  limited  in  number.  The  creation  of 
a  college  imposes  the  duty  of  endowing  it.  We  have  now  four 
colleges  for  literary  and  scientific  instruction,  and  two  for  medical 
education.  They  are  all  under  the  superintendence  of  highly  gift- 
ed and  enlightened  men,  and  are  eminently  entitled  to  your  liberal 
patronage.  But  until  the  government  shall  see  fit  to  augment  the 
funds  of  existing  institutions  to  the  full  extent  of  their  wants,  lam 
persuaded  that  there  ought  to  be  no  increase ;  and  not  even  then, 
unless  peremptorily  required  by  the  exigencies  of  education.  Per- 
haps indeed  in  a  case  of  so  much  importance,  the  authority  of  the 
Regents  of  the  University  ought  to  be  only  recommendatory,  and 
the  incorporating  power  exclusively  vested  in  the  Legislature,  as 
a  more  safe  depository  than  a  single  body,  as  a  source  from  whence 
munificent  endowments  must  emanate,  and  as  most  conformable  to 
the  spirit,  if  not  the  letter,  of  the  constitution. 

Our  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge  are  numerous, 
useful,  and  deserving  of  liberal  encouragement.  In  various  cities 
and  Tillages^  societies  for  the  cultivation  of  natural  science  and  phi- 


9 


losophy,  oF  antiquarian  and  historical  research,  and  of  general 
knowledge,  have  been  founded  ;  and  are  calculated  to  develope  our 
resources,  to  accumulate  useful  facts,  and  to  advance  the  great  in- 
terests of  society.  In  the  promotion  of  medical  knowledge,  so  es- 
sential to  the  preservation  of  health  and  life,  the  College  of  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  have  continued  their  career  of  distinguished 
usefulness.  Some  of  the  county  medical  societies  are  entitled  to 
great  praise  for  simultaneous  efforts.  For  all  these  institutions, 
your  fostering  care  is  earnestly  solicited. 

Added  to  these,  the  State  medical  society,  which  has  been  in  be- 
neficial operation  for  the  last  eighteen  years,  and  which  assembles 
every  year  at  the  seat  of  government,  would  be  enabled,  by  a  small 
annual  appropriation,  to  realize  to  the  most  valuable  extent,  the 
high  expectations  w^hich  are  so  justly  entertained  of  its  disposition 
and  ability  to  extend  the  benefits  of  the  healing  art. 

The  great  object  of  a  good  government  is  to  secure  the  greatest 
happiness  of  the  greatest  number  under  its  care.  For  this  purpose, 
those  arts  and  pursuits  which  minister  to  the  sustenance  and  com- 
fort of  man,  elevate  his  character,  and  excite  his  virtues  and  talents 
into  activity,  must  be  cherished  with  a  solicitude  proportioned  to 
the  importance  of  the  end  to  be  attained,  and  to  the  means  of  ac- 
complishment. Four-fifths  of  our  population  arc  cultivators  of  the 
soil.  On  agriculture  we  must  depend  as  the  main  source  of  our 
welfare.  Its  natural  connexion  with  manufactures,  trade,  com- 
merce, navigation,  and  the  useful  arts,  is  well  understood  ;  and  the 
united  influence  of  these  great  departments  of  human  industry,  con- 
stitutes the  wealth,  the  powder,  and  the  prosperity  of  nations. 

An  act  was  passed  in  1819,  for  the  encouragement  of  agriculture, 
which  will  expire  during  the  present  session.  This  state  possesses 
every  physical  advantage  for  a  great  system  of  agriculture — a  fer- 
tile and  various  soil  ;  easy,  cheap,  and  rapid  means  of  transporta- 
tion ;  great  markets  at  home,  and  contiguity  to  the  ocean,  that 
opens  to  us  the  markets  of  the  world.  These  are  some  of  the  fea- 
tures that  strike  at  the  slightest  glance.  And  must  it  not  be  admit- 
ted that  agriculture,  either  as  a  science  or  an  art,  is  far  from  being 
cultivated  with  that  ardent  and  successful  spirit  due  to  its  impor- 
tance ?  The  most  profitable  mode  of  preparing  the  soil ;  the  most 
economical  and  fertilizing  applications  ;  the  most  expedient  rotation 
of  crops  ;  the  various  kinds  of  grain,  plants,  fruits,  and  trees,  best 
adapted  to  our  soil  and  climate  ;  the  domestic  animals  most  pro- 
ductive of  solid  advantage ;  the  best  system  of  plantation  to  supply 
the  consumption  of  timber  and  fuel, — all  these  and  similar  subjects 
open  a  field  of  inquiry  and  research  of  momentous  interest,  and  de- 
mand the  animating  and  invigorating  encouragement  of  the  state. 
We  have  an  intercourse  with  every  region  of  the  globe,  and  can  ea- 
sily procure  seed,  plants,  animals,  and  labour-saving  machines — 
and  we  can  hold  such  communion  with  the  scientific  associations  of 
Europe,  connected  with  the  various  branches  of  husbandry,  as  will 
he  productive  of  the  most  useful  results. 

The  experiment  instituted  for  the  encouragement  of  agriculture. 


10 


although  but  of  short  duration,  labouring  under  much  oppositioiT* 
and  conducted  in  some  cases  injudiciously,  has  been  generally  use- 
ful, and  in  some  counties  has  been  eminently  successful.  I  submit 
therefore  to  you  to  determine,  whether  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
continue  this  system  under  such  modifications  as  you  may  deem 
advisable.  And  I  do  this  under  a  full  persuasion  that  you  will 
never  overlook  any  measure  conducive  to  the  prosperity  of  so  car- 
dinal an  interest,  and  connected  with  the  honour  of  the  state. 

As  horticulture  is  an  important  department  of  agriculture,  I  have 
great  pleasure  in  informing  you  that  the  incorporated  Horticultural 
society,  established  for  some  years  in  the  city  of  New-York,  has 
been  productive  of  great  good,  by  increasing  and  improving  our 
fruit  and  esculent  vegetables.  Another  association  has  also  been 
formed ;  and  these  laudable  institutions  having  recently  establish- 
ed an  union,  I  anticipate  still  greater  benefits  from  their  consoli- 
dated efforts.  Founded  upon  the  plan  of  the  great  Horticultural 
Society  of  London,  and  blending  the  contributions  of  experience 
with  the  researches  of  philosophy,  they  deserve  the  most  liberal 
encouragement. 

As  it  is  one  of  the  chief  designs  of  a  good  government  to  culti- 
vate the  resources  of  a  state,  it  becomes  of  primary  importance  to 
know  with  accuracy  what  constitutes  those  resources.  The  wisest 
states  have  pursued  a  defective  policy  in  this  respect,  by  neglecting 
to  ascertain  their  own  powers  and  faculties.  Statistical  surveys 
will  easily  accomplish  this  desirable  object ;  let  in  a  flood  of  light 
on  the  science  of  political  philosophy,  and  open  a  wide  field  for  the 
most  useful  and  practical  operations.  By  the  constitution,  a  census 
is  to  take  place  during  the  present  year.  Important  statistical  in- 
quiries may  be  blended  with  this  object,  which  will  evolve  many 
momentous  facts,  and  diminish  the  labour  and  expense  of  the  gene- 
ral survey.  Periodical  returns  of  marriages,  births,  and  deaths, 
would  greatly  enhance  the  value  of  this  information. 

The  useful  arts,  connected  as  they  are  with  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  life,  deserve  at  all  times  the  fostering  care  of  govern- 
ment. In  a  community  where  labour  is  high,  and  in  constant  de- 
mand, where  the  genius  of  the  people  is  prolific  in  inventions  of 
vast  value,  and  where  every  new  discovery  that  diminishes  manual 
labour,  becomes  of  immediate  consequence,  it  seems  wise  to  hold 
forth  such  rewards  as  may  stimulate  ingenuity  and  indemnify  ex- 
pense. The  National  Government,  under  existing  laws,  can  do 
but  little:  and  even  when  letters  patent  are  granted,  their  validi- 
ty is  too  frequently  drawn  into  question,  with  all  the  cost  and 
vexation  incident  to  litigation.  Would  it  not  be  sound  policy  to 
reward  with  liberality,  the  authors  of  such  inventions  as  produce  a 
saving  of  labour  in  agriculture  and  mechanical  pursuits,  and  im- 
prove the  quality  and  augment  the  quantity  of  our  products  and 
fabrics?  It  is  perceived  with  much  satisfaction,  that  the  encourage- 
ment already  dispensed  has  had  the  most  propitious  influence  in 
every  direction,  on  the  advancement  of  household  and  domestic 
manufactures.  Many  articles  of  exquisite  workmanship  have  been 


11 


presented  at  our  fairs  and  exhibitions,  greatly  creditable  to  those 
who  furnished  and  those  who  encouraged  them. 

The  Mechanic  and  Scientific  Institution  of  New- York  has  been 
established  for  the  purpose  of  diffusing  the  benefits  of  science 
throughout  the  various  mechanical  professions,  by  means  of  lecture?, 
apparatus,  models,  books,  and  public  exhibitions  of  works  of  inge- 
nuity, skill,  and  industry.  The  usefulness  of  this  association  would 
be  greatly  enhanced  by  the  erection  of  an  edifice  adequate  for  its 
purposes  :  and  it  is  believed  that  an  appropriate  site  may  be  con- 
currently granted  by  the  state  and  the  city  of  New- York  without  in- 
convenience to  either,  from  contiguous  property  in  that  city  belong- 
ing to  both,  and  now  unoccupied.  As  this  is  the  first  organized 
school  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  and  is  destined  to  increase  the  skill 
and  elevate  the  character  of  our  mechanic  interest,  by  applying 
philosophy  to  the  arts,  and  imparting  the  benefits  of  science  to  that 
most  useful  body  of  our  fellow-citizens,  its  claims  upon  the  public 
bounty  will  not  escape  your  favourable  attention. 

The  Erie  canal,  (which  is  the  longest  in  the  world,  and  which, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Champlain  canal,  and  the  contemplated 
communications  with  lake  Ontario,  and  the  minor  lakes,  will  pro- 
duce the  most  extensive  and  important  inland  navigation  ever  wit- 
nessed,) would  have  been  finished  last  season,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  intervention  of  unexpected  impediments.  It  is,  however,  so 
near  to  its  completion  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  form  a  perma- 
nent system  for  the  preservation  of  the  canals,  for  the  collection 
of  the  revenue,  for  the  extinguishment  of  the  debt,  and  for  a  vigi- 
lant superintendence  both  of  their  particular  concerns  and  of  their 
general  interests.  A  plan  ought  to  be  adopted,  combining  econo- 
my with  efficiency,  and  having  regard  to  future  as  well  as  present 
operations.  I  consider  these  works,  as  but  the  first,  in  a  series  of 
great  undertakings.  We  must,  however,  pursue  our  objects  with 
prudence  as  well  as  with  energy,  in  every  stage  of  our  progress^ 
looking  for  support  to  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  the  people. 
And  it  is  a  source  of  high  felicitation  to  know  that  the  debt  may 
be  speedily  satisfied  without  resorting  to  taxation,  without  discon 
tinning  our  efforts  for  similar  improvements,  and  without  staying 
the  dispensing  hand  of  government  in  favour  of  the  great  depart- 
ments of  education,  literature,  and  science,  or  the  cardinal  interests 
of  productive  industry. 

A  board  for  the  promotion  of  Internal  Improvements,  composed 
of  well  informed  citizens,  ought  to  be  constituted,  with  authority 
to  consider  and  report  on  all  subjects  relative  to  the  establishment 
of  communications  by  land  and  by  water,  by  roads,  railways,  canalsp 
bridges,  and  water  courses,  and  with  a  general  superintending 
power  over  their  construction.  All  applications  and  proposals  on 
such  subjects,  would,  of  course,  receive  the  full  consideration  of  the 
board  before  they  were  accepted  by  the  legislature  ;  and  would  be 
carried  into  execution  in  accordance  with  the  exigency  of  the  case, 
the  importance  of  the  object,  and  the  ability  of  the  state.  The 
field  of  operation  is  immense,  and  the  harvest  of  honour  and  profit 


12 


is  unbounded  :  and  if  our  resources  are  wisely  applied  and  forcibly 
directed,  all  proper  demands  for  important  avenues  of  communica- 
tion, may  be  answered  in  due  time,  and  in  ample  extent. 

The  primary  design  of  our  artificial  navigation,  is  to  open  a  route 
by  canals  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Great  Lakes.  The 
Erie  and  Champlain  canals  will  in  a  great  measure  accomplish  this 
object :  but  it  will  not  be  fully  realized  until  the  waters  of  Lake 
Ontario  shall  be  connected  with  the  Erie  canal  and  with  Lake 
Champlain.  The  importance  of  this  design  will  be  duly  appreciat- 
ed, when  it  is  understood  that  the  lake  coast,  not  only  of  this  state, 
but  of  the  United  States,  is  more  extensive  than  the  sea  coast. 

The  next  leading  object  is  to  unite  the  minor  lakes,  and  the  se- 
condary rivers  with  the  canals  ;  to  form  a  junction  between  impor- 
tant rivers,  and  to  produce  such  a  connexion  between  the  bays  on 
the  sea  coast,  as  will  insure  the  safety  of  our  boat  navigation  in  time 
of  peace  against  the  tempests  of  the  ocean,  and  in  time  of  war 
against  the  depredations  of  the  enemy. 

A  canal  between  the  St.  Lawrence  river  and  Lake  Champlain, 
would  be  attended  with  important  benefits,  by  opening  a  valuable 
market  within  our  own  territory,  and  by  affording  an  equivalent 
for  the  privation  of  a  free  use  of  that  river.  Duties  have  been  im- 
posed on  our  productions  sent  to  Canada  ;  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  British  government  have  declined  a  negotiation  respecting  the 
free  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  That  we  have  by  the  law  of 
nations,  a  right  of  free  transit  to  the  ocean  through  that  river,  I  en- 
tertain no  doubt ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  we  are  entitled 
to  an  entrepot  or  place  of  safe  deposite  for  our  commodities  destined 
to  the  ocean  through  that  channel. 

Although  these  points  are  not  properly  within  the  sphere  of  our 
deliberations,  yet  they  ought  to  be  known,  because  they  affect  the 
rights  and  interests  of  our  fellow  citizens  ;  and  in  knowing  them, 
we  may  apply  for  redress  to  the  constitutional  organ.  How  far  it 
may  be  advisable  for  the  United  States,  in  case  a  satisfactory  ar- 
rangement cannot  be  made,  to  impose  countervailing  duties  on  the 
products  of  Canada  on  their  transit  through  our  territory,  down  the 
St.  Lawrence,  is  a  subject  on  which  the  National  Government  will 
undoubtedly  bestow  wise  consideration. 

The  contemplated  canal  between  that  river  and  Lake  Champlain, 
would  relieve  the  northern  inhabitants  of  this  state,  from  the  em- 
barrassments of  a  foreign  market.  A  survey  of  this  route  has  recent- 
ly been  made  under  the  authority  of  the  state,  and  the  only  formi- 
dable impediment  is  an  intervening  elevation  of  upwards  of  900 
feet.  This  may  perhaps  be  surmounted  by  locks  or  inclined  planes ; 
and  there  is  said  to  be  an  abundance  of  water  on  the  summit-level. 
— Where  this  ridge  passes  into  the  British  dominions,  there  is  an 
abrupt  descent,  and  the  level  country  below  presents  an  easy  pas- 
sage for  a  canal.  Perhaps  an  adequate  portion  of  this  territory  may 
be  obtained  by  negotiation,  either  by  conceding  our  alleged  exclu- 
sive right  on  a  certain  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  or  by  making 
some  arrangement  in  relation  to  the  disputed  territory  on  the 


13 


north-east  angle  of  the  United  States. — But  at  all  events,  and  under 
any  circumstances,  a  communication  between  the  Erie  canal  and 
Lake  Ontario,  by  the  way  of  Osw^ego,  ought  to  receive  your  decid- 
ed countenance,  and  to  be  made  as  soon  as  practicable.  It  will 
greatly  augment  our  revenue,  and  open  profitable  markets  to  our 
industrious  and  enterprising  citizens  residing  within  the  reach  of 
thatlake  and  its  tributary  waters.  The  provision  heretofore  made  in 
this  respect,  is  neither  adequate  as  to  funds  nor  as  to  prompt  execu- 
tion. 

To  unite  in  the  most  accommodating  manner  the  waters  of  the 
Seneca,  Cayuga,  and  Canandaigua  lakes,  and  such  of  the  secondary 
lakes  as  may  be  deemed  expedient  with  the  Erie  canal,  is  also  an 
object  of  great  importance.  A  connexion  too  is  desirable  between 
the  Delaware  and  the  Hudson  ;  between  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Alleghany,  Susquehannah,  and  Genesee  rivers ;  between  the  Erie 
canal  and  the  Susquehannah  along  the  valley  of  the  Chenango  river ; 
between  the  Susquehannah  and  the  Seneca  lake  ;  between  the  Erie 
canal  at  Buffalo,  and  the  Alleghany  river  at  its  confluence  with  Co- 
newango  creek  ;  between  Black  river  and  the  Erie  canal :  and 
between  Gravesend  Bay, Jamaica  Bay,  Great  South  Bay,  and  South- 
ampton Bay,  and  across  Canoe  place  to  South-hold  Bay,  on  Long- 
Island.  Other  eligible  communications  might  be  indicated  ;  but 
these  are  sufficient  to  evince  the  expediency  of  constituting  a  board 
with  general  powers,  in  relation  to  Internal  Improvements. 

All  these  works  must  emanate  from  the  authority  of  the  state ; 
but  many  of  them  will  doubtless  be  undertaken  without  any  de- 
mand on  the  treasury,  in  consequence  of  encouraging  grants.  Of 
this  nature  is  the  connexion  proposed  to  be  made  by  a  company 
between  the  Delaware  and  Hudson — a  project  highly  deserving  of 
public  countenance.  The  canal  on  the  south  side  of  Long-Island 
would  perhaps  be  constructed  under  a  similar  grant.  Considering 
that  these  sections  of  the  state  are  necessarily  excluded  from  an 
immediate  participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  canals  already  made, 
I  derive  a  peculiar  gratification  from  the  liberality  manifested  by 
the  legislature  in  the  one  case,  and  shall  be  happy  to  see  it  extend- 
ed to  the  other. 

The  proposed  connexion  between  the  Seneca  lake  and  the  Che- 
mung or  Tioga  branch  of  the  Susquehannah,  will  not  exceed  twen- 
ty miles ;  and  that  lake  is  open  for  navigation  during  the  whole 
year.  This  canal  w'ill  open  our  salt  and  gypsum  to  the  extensive 
region  connected  with  the  Susquehannah,  and  a  numerous  body  of 
our  citizens  will  find  a  market  for  their  productions  in  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore,  as  well  as  in  New-York.  This  multiplication 
of  markets  will  be  beneficial  to  the  agricultural  interest,  is  in  con- 
sonance with  the  dictates  of  sound  policy,  and  can  only  be  opposed 
by  sectional  and  monopolizing  views. 

In  addition  to  this  it  may  be  stated,  that  there  is  an  inexhaustible 
quantity  of  bituminous  coal  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Tioga  river, 
which  is  now  sold  at  the  mines  for  two  cents  per  bushel,  and  which 
can  be  transported  on  flats  to  Newto\vn,  in  Tioga  county.    It  is 


14 


represented  to  be  of  a  superior  quality,  and  similar  to  the  Liverpool 
coal  of  commerce ;  and  it  is  supposed  to  occupy  that  extensive  re- 
gion from  Wheeling,  to  that  part  of  the  state  near  the  head  of  Se- 
neca lake.  And  should  the  proposed  communication  be  made,  it 
may  be  transported  to  Albany  by  w^ater. 

Some  canals  will  undoubtedly  be  accomplished  by  individual 
enterprise  ;  some  will  require  partial  assistance  ;  and  others  must 
depend  entirely  on  public  munificence.  But  all  can,  with  proper 
exertion,  be  executed  in  due  time,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
growth  of  the  state,  the  exigencies  of  society,  and  the  inevitable 
evolution  of  our  resources.  The  Erie  canal,  besides  completion  at 
its  western  termination,  will  require  in  time  some  important  ad- 
ditions. These  will  consist  in  double  locks  and  towing  paths  to 
accelerate  the  passage  of  the  boats.  When  new  bridges  shall  be  re- 
quired, a  much  greater  elevation  ought  to  be  given  to  the  road 
bridges,  and  the  farm  bridges  ought  to  be  formed  on  a  retractile 
plan. 

The  Champlain  canal  enters  the  Hudson  at  Fort  Edward,  and 
the  navigation  is  continued  for  several  miles  down  that  river.  The 
comparative  advantages  of  natural  and  artificial  navigation,  are  thus 
fairly  tested  and  fully  contrasted  ;  and  the  delay,  expense,  and 
vexation  of  the  former  channel  of  conveyance,  are  found  so  harass- 
ing, that  it  has  become  essential  to  substitute  a  canal,  and  initiatory 
proceedings  have  been  had  for  that  purpose,  under  the  sanction  of 
the  legislature,  which  will,  I  trust,  be  consummated  immediately. 
The  Champlain  canal  opens  a  vast  expanse  for  inland  trade  and  pub- 
lic accommodation.  Its  revenue,  when  compared  with  that  of  the 
Erie  canal,  will  be  at  least  in  the  ratio  of  its  extent.  The  region 
which  borders  on  lake  Champlain,  abounds  with  rich  iron  ore, 
convertible  into  the  best  iron,  which,  with  excellent  steel,  is  now 
manufactured  successfully  by  enterprising  individuals.  Calcareous 
substances  of  all  and  the  best  kinds,  from  marble  to  building  stone, 
lumber,  the  products  of  the  dairy,  of  the  soil,  and  of  manufactures, 
are  also  in  great  plenty ;  in  return  for  which,  that  region  has  occa- 
sion for  salt,  gypsum,  and  various  commercial  accommodations. 

It  is  also  necessary  that  prompt  and  efiectual  provision  should 
be  made  to  remedy  the  embarrassments  attending  the  sloop  navi- 
gation on  the  upper  parts  of  the  Hudson.  Different  plans  have 
been  proposed  for  the  attainment  of  this  important  object,  and 
among  others  the  improvement  of  the  natural  navigation  by  re- 
moving the  present  obstructions,  by  joining  different  islands,  and 
increasing  the  velocity  of  the  current.  It  is  now  in  a  great  mea- 
sure ascertained  to  be  most  profitable  to  make  transhipments  from 
canal  boats  to  river  vessels.  The  importance  of  this  measure  is 
therefore  identified  with  the  well  being  of  our  artificial,  as  well  as 
of  our  natural  navigation  ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  you  will  noo 
shrink  from  these  operations  on  account  of  the  presumed  expense. 
In  all  judicious  undertakings  of  this  kind  faithfully  conducted  there 
will  be  an  excess  of  benefit.  Money  applied  at  home  in  useful  im- 
provements, is  to  be  regarded  as  an  instrument  of  circulation,  not 
a  privation  of  wealth,  nor  an  extinguishment  of  capital. 


15 


When  private  property  is  applied  to  public  uses,  the  compensa- 
tion to  the  owner  ought  to  be  prompt  and  ample.  There  is  reason 
to  apprehend  that  this,  has  not  been  done  in  many  cases  connected 
with  the  canals,  and  that  great  complaints  have  been  made,  and 
considerable  losses  sustained  in  consequence  of  such  omission.  As 
the  law  now  stands,  appraisements  for  such  appropriations  must  be 
made  by  two  of  the  acting  canal  commissioners.  If  the  supreme 
court  should  set  any  aside,  as  they  are  authorized  to  do,  on  just  and 
equitable  principles,  it  seems  reasonable  and  proper  that  the  new 
assessments,  under  these  circumstances,  should  be  submitted  to  a 
tribunal  which  had  not  passed  upon  the  question.  I  recommend 
the  whole  of  this  subject  to  your  early  attention. 

The  debt  due  on  account  of  canals  and  the  subsidiary  works, 
is  ^7,467,770  99,  of  which  ^54,524,270  99  bear  an  interest  of  five 
per  cent,  and  the  residue  an  interest  of  six  per  cent,  making  an 
aggregate  annual  interest  of  ^^375, 823  55.  The  revenue  from  the 
tolls  the  present  year,  will  exceed  S3 10,000,  and  the  duties  on 
salt,  $100,000,  which,  with  the  sources  of  income  belonging  to 
the  canal  fund,  will,  in  all  probability,  produce  an  excess  of  reve- 
nue above  the  interest  of  the  canal  debt,  of  near  ^300,000.  Should 
any  discrepancy  appear  between  this  statement  and  the  annual  re- 
port of  the  comptroller,  it  will  be  only  apparent,  his  having  refer- 
ence to  the  fiscal,  and  this  to  the  natural  year. 

It  is  believed  that  next  year  the  revenue  will  be  nearly  doubled, 
if  the  Erie  canal  arrives  to  the  lake  in  due  season;  and  its  pro- 
gressive expansion  will  be  commensurate  with  the  prosperity  of  the 
state  and  the  growth  of  our  country.  From  these  data,  a  just  esti- 
mate may  be  made  of  the  rapid  operation  of  a^judicious  sinking 
fund  in  extinguishing  the  whole  debt,  and  of  the  prospective  fiscal 
resources  of  the  state. 

It  is  estimated  that  10,000  boats  have  passed  at  the  junction  of 
the  Erie  and  Champlain  canals,  within  the  last  season.  Boats 
with  commodities,  proceed  at  the  rate  of  55  miles  in  24  hours ;  and 
boats  with  passengers  near  100  miles  in  the  same  time.  As  late 
as  the  15th  of  December,  a  boat  laden  with  merchandise,  arrived 
at  Utica  from  Albany. 

Internal  trade  is  most  flourishing  when  its  profits  are  small,  and 
its  returns  quick;  and  this  desirable  efiect  is  produced  by  the  brisk 
circulation  of  commodities  through  canals.  An  important  recom- 
mendation of  this  communication  is  the  facility  which  it  affords  to 
emigration  and  change  of  habitation  ;  its  conveyance  of  bulky  arti- 
cles which  are  forbidden  to  land  transportation  ;  the  cheapness, 
safety,  and  certainty  of  travelling,  and  its  consequent  increase. 
Hence  the  promotion  of  rapid  settlement  and  concentrated  popula- 
tion. All  these  propitious  circumstances  go  to  establish  the  per- 
manency and  magnitude  of  the  income  to  be  derived  from  our 
canals,  and  to  demonstrate  the  superior  profit  of  judicious  invest- 
ments in  them.  The  advantages  of  a  condensed  over  a  scattered 
population-,  proceed  from  furnishing  great  markets  for  sale  and 
purchase;  from  extending  the  operations  of  ingenuity  and  skill; 


16 


from  expanding  the  sphere  of  employment  by  subdividing  the  ex- 
ertions, and  augmenting  the  productive  power  of  labour,  and  by 
concentrating  great  capitals  subservient  to  all  the  purposes  of  life. 
In  producing  extensive  markets,  in  communicating  the  benefits  of 
a  dense  to  a  spare  population,  and  in  destroying  the  inconveniences 
of  distance,  canals  may  be  emphatically  designated  as  the  great 
labour-saving  machines  of  internal  commerce. 

For  almost  all  purposes,  the  city  of  Detroit  will,  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Erie  canal,  be  brought  within  a  hundred  miles  of 
the  city  of  Albany.  Already  have  we  witnessed  the  creative 
power  of  these  communications  in  the  flourishing  villages  which 
have  sprung  up  or  been  extended,  in  the  increase  of  our  towns, 
and  above  all  in  the  prosperity  of  the  city  of  New-York.  If,  as 
it  is  said,  upwards  of  3,000  houses  have  been  built  in  that  city  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  it  is  highly  probable  that  in  fifteen  years  its  po- 
pulation will  be  double,  and  that  in  less  than  thirty  years,  it  will 
be  the  third  city  in  point  of  numbers  in  the  civilized  world,  and 
the  second,  if  not  the  first  in  point  of  commerce.  Nor  is  there 
any  danger  of  a  re-action.  After  cities  reach  a  certain  elevation  of 
opulence  and  prosperity,  they  appear  to  possess  a  self-multiplying, 
self-augmenting  power.  But  independently  of  this  consideration, 
the  external  as  well  as  the  internal  causes  of  the  opulence  and  ex- 
tent of  New- York  will  continue  in  full  operation  and  with  addi- 
tional power ;  and  in  proportion  as  its  supplies  increase,  it  will 
furnish  augmented  means  of  consumption  at  home,  and  of  attrac- 
tion to  customers  from  abroad.  How  emphatically  then  does  it 
behoove  us,  in  the  contemplation  and  enjoyment  of  these  abundant 
blessings,  to  remember  that  we  derive  them  all  from  the  great 
Fountain  of  Benevolence. 

I  cannot  refrain,  upon  this  occasion,  from  congratulating  you  and 
our  country  on  the  propitious  spirit  which  is  generally  ditfused 
through  the  other  states  in  favour  of  Internal  Improvements.  The 
state  of  Ohio  has  now  under  consideration  a  stupendous  project  for 
uniting  the  Ohio  river  with  Lake  Erie,  which  may  justly  be  con- 
sidered a  prolongation  or  continuance  of  our  Erie  canal,  and  which 
will  connect  the  Hudson  with  the  Missisippi,  and  convert  a  most 
important  portion  of  the  United  States  into  one  vast  island.  I 
shall  welcome  the  commencement,  and  hail  the  consummation  of 
that  work,  as  among  the  most  auspicious  events  in  our  history.  It 
will  open  to  our  trade  the  luxuriant  valley  of  the  Missisippi  and 
its  auxiliary  rivers.  It  will  immeasurably  enhance  the  value  and 
usefulness  of  our  works,  concentrate  the  commerce  of  the  East 
and  West  in  our  great  emporium,  and  bind  the  Union  together  by 
indissoluble  ties.  The  state  of  Ohio  is  distinguished  for  fertility 
of  soil,  benignity  of  climate,  moral  power,  and  prospective  resour- 
ces. The  revenue  from  the  canals  will  pay,  in  a  reasonable  time, 
the  interest  of  the  sum  expended  for  its  completion,  and  form  a 
large  surplus  applicable  to  the  speedy  extinguishment  of  the  debt ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  necessary  funds  may  be  pro- 
cured in  this  state  on  easy  and  satisfactory  terms. 


17 


I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence,  the  attempt  which  has  been  recent- 
ly made  to  bring  the  boats  navigating  our  canals  within  the  opera- 
tion of  the  statutes  for  regulating  the  coasting  trade  of  the  United 
States,  by  requiring  from  such  boats  enrolment  and  license,  and 
the  payment  of  tonage  duties.  The  canals  are  the  property  of 
the  state,  are  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state,  have  been  con- 
structed by  the  state,  and  can  be  destroyed  by  the  state.  They 
have  been  made  at  its  expense  after  the  General  Government  had 
refused  all  participation  and  assistance.  It  cannot  well  be  perceiv- 
ed how  the  regulation  of  commerce  "  with  foreign  nations,  and 
among  the  several  states,  or  with  the  Indian  tribes,"  can  authorize 
an  interference  with  vessels  prosecuting  an  inland  trade  through 
artificial  channels.  The  coasting  trade  is  entirely  distinct  from  a 
trade  through  our  canals,  which  no  state  in  the  Union  nor  the  Ge- 
neral Government  itself,  has  a  right  to  enjoy  without  our  consent. 

The  consequences  of  such  assumptions  would  be,  if  carried  into 
eflfect,  to  annihilate  our  revenue  arising  from  tolls,  to  produce  the 
most  oppressive  measures,  to  destroy  the  whole  system  of  Internal 
Improvements,  and  to  prostrate  the  authority  of  the  state  govern- 
ments. A  just  exposition  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  cannot  au- 
thorize their  application  to  such  cases.  But  if  a  different  inter- 
pretation should  prevail,  then  it  becomes  a  very  serious  question  in- 
deed whether  the  state  can  enforce  its  laws  imposing  tolls.  The  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  has  solemnly  adjudged  that  a  coast- 
ing license  from  a  collector  is  a  grant  of  the  ri2;ht  of  navigation. 
If  so,  and  that  right  being  derived  from  a  law  of  Congress,  it  will 
be  contended  that  it  cannot  be  prohibited,  nor  controlled  by  any 
state  law.  The  right,  to  be  complete,  must  be  enjoyed  without 
restraint.  The  state  cannot  demand  a  toll  as  the  price  of  the  en- 
joyment of  such  a  right,  if  it  has  not  the  power  to  prohibit  such 
enjoyment  altogether. 

It  may  be  further  remarked  that  the  power  to  regulate  commerce 
among  the  states,  under  which  the  act  regulating  the  coasting  trade 
was  passed,  is  held  by  that  high  tribunal  to  be  exclusively  in  Con- 
gress. If  so,  and  if  that  act  or  any  other  act  which  Congress  may 
pass  under  that  power,  can  be  applied  to  the  canals,  it  w^ould 
follow  as  a  consequence  that  our  laws  imposing  tolls,  are  void 
from  the  beginning.  The  state  has  no  power  to  adopt  them, 
and  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  would  seem  to  be  immaterial 
v^rhether  any  license  be  taken  out  under  the  act  of  Congress  or  not. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  also  declared  that  the  power  to  regulate 
commerce  includes  a  power  to  regulate  navigation  as  one  of  the  means 
of  carrying  on  commerce.  The  same  remark  may  be  made  with 
equal  force,  concerning  any  kind  of  transportation  whether  by  land 
or  water,  the  power  to  regulate  commerce  applying  to  the  one  as 
well  as  to  the  other.  If  Congress  can  declare  that  a  boat  passing 
between  different  parts  of  the  same  district  within  the  same  state, 
shall  take  a  license,  why  can  it  not  direct  that  a  wagon  shall  take 
one  under  similar  circumstances  ?  When  we  shall  have  arrived  at 

3 


18 


this  point,  we  may  begin  to  have  some  adequate  notion  of  the  ex- 
tent to  which  this  claim  may  be  carried. 

I  shall  say  no  more  on  this  subject  at  this  time.  I  will  not  enter- 
tain a  doubt  but  that  the  National  Government  will  command  the 
abandonment  of  a  claim  so  unfounded  and  pernicious ;  and  I  am 
persuaded  that  it  has  been  preferred  without  due  reflection,  and 
without  instructions  from  superior  authority.  But  if  this  course 
shall  not  be  pursued,  it  will  then  be  your  duty  to  take  that  stand 
which  the  rights  and  safety  of  the  people  imperiously  demand. 

The  considerations  which  grow  out  of  this  occasion,  and  the 
complaints  which  have  been  made  in  different  states  about  alleged 
encroachments  of  the  National  Government  on  their  constitutional 
powers,  point  to  the  most  formidable  dangers  that  can  menace  the 
stability  of  the  Union  and  the  welfare  of  our  country.  Without  a 
General  Government,  we  shall  neither  have  union  at  home,  nor  re- 
spect abroad.  We  shall  be  arrayed  into  separate  confederacies,  or 
exist  as  insulated  states,  maintaining  large  standing  armies,  wasting 
our  resources  in  intestine  wars,  the  dupes  of  foreign  intrigue,  and 
the  victims  of  civil  discord.  Without  state  authorities,  there  can 
be  no  civil  liberty,  and  no  good  government ;  for  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible that  so  extensive  a  country  can  be  bound  together  unless  as 
a  confederation,  or  a  military  despotism.  Every  true  friend  of 
America  will  strive  to  maintain  these  respective  authorities  in  full 
purity  and  vigour,  without  detracting  from  the  powers  of  the  one 
to  add  to  those  of  the  other,  nor  extending  the  faculties  of  either 
beyond  their  legitimate  dimensions.  Each  possesses  a  portion  of 
the  delegated  authority  of  the  people,  and  each  is  supreme  within 
the  sphere  of  its  constitutional  powers.  The  apprehensions  enter- 
tained by  some  of  our  distinguished  statesmen  at  the  formation  of 
the  National  Constitution  have  entirely  failed ;  and  instead  of  the 
predominance  of  a  controlling  power  in  the  states,  the  centripetal 
force  of  the  General  Government  has  had  perhaps  too  great  a  prepon- 
derance. The  officers  of  the  latter  exceed  those  of  the  former  in 
rank,  power,  number,  and  emolument :  its  patronage  is  commen- 
surate with  its  superior  resources  ;  and  it  touches  in  its  relations 
and  ramifications  every  chord  of  ambition,  presents  the  most  spacious 
theatre  for  the  display  of  great  talents,  and  for  the  gratification  of 
lofty  aspirations  It  also  possesses  a  decided  advantage  over  the 
state  governments  in  the  arrangement  of  its  judicial  authority.  In 
all  controversies  relative  to  the  due  exercise  of  their  powers,  this  de- 
partment of  the  National  Government  is  a  tribunal  of  dernier  resort, 
without  any  amenability  to  the  people,  or  the  states,  with  a  compensa- 
tion that  cannot  be  diminished,  under  a  tenure  that  will  endure  for 
life,  and  with  no  other  responsibility  than  liability  to  impeachment 
for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanours,  under  which  any  decisions 
liowever  erroneous,  can  never  be  classed,  because  an  error  of  judg- 
ment can  never  be  adjudged  a  crime. 

Natural  justice  prescribes  that  no  man  should  be  a  judge  in  his 
own  cause,andthat  between  contending  sovereignties  neither  should 


19 


pronounce  the  law  of  the  case.  A  new  tribunal  ought  to  be  con- 
stituted, to  decide  upon  the  power  of  the  national  and  state  go- 
vernments, and  to  keep  them  within  legitimate  boundaries.  I 
know  of  none  that  can  be  formed  w^ith  a  character  so  imposing, 
with  a  responsibility  so  imperative,  and  with  a  position  so  dignified 
as  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Composed  of  the  most  distin- 
guished and  talented  men  of  the  several  slates ;  its  decisions  would 
be  formed  with  integrity  and  ability,  and  received  with  respectful 
acquiescence.  As  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  Congress,  and  as  a  com- 
ponent part  of  the  executive  power,  it  would  be  a  safe  guardian  of 
the  just  authority  of  the  National  Government ;  and  as  a  represen- 
tation of  the  states  with  a  periodical  change  of  members,  it  would 
be  their  natural  and  efficient  protector  against  unconstitutional  in- 
vasions. In  these  suggestions,  I  have  not  the  most  distant  inten- 
tion of  violating  the  habitual  respect  which  I  entertain  for  the  su- 
preme judiciary  of  the  Union. 

A  judicious  policy  will  dispense  as  far  as  possible  an  equal  par- 
ticipation of  the  benefits  of  cheap  and  rapid  communication.  Those 
regions  which  are  most  distant  from  our  navigable  establishments, 
ought  to  enjoy  equivalent  facilities  by  roads  and  bridges.  The  south- 
ern tier  of  counties,  commencing  with  Chatauque,  and  extending 
eastward,  come  generally  under  this  description.  In  all  cases  of  this 
kind,  roads  ought  to  be  made  from  the  interior  counties  to  the  market 
towns  on  the  Hudson,  and  other  navigable  waters,  to  the  canals, 
to  the  parallel  and  great  lakes,  and  to  all  other  places  where  the 
conveniences  of  transportation  are  affected.  It  is  of  great  conse- 
quence to  construct  a  state  road  from  some  point  on  the  Hudson 
river,  to  the  head  of  Cayuga  lake,  nearly  central  between  the  line  of 
the  Erie  canal  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Pennsylvania  line  on  the 
other.  Such  an  avenue  of  requisite  solidity,  of  adequate  width, 
and  smooth  and  even  surface,  would  afford  great  and  valuable  facil- 
ities. The  distance  would  be  about  150  miles,  and  each  end  of  the 
road  would  furnish  good  markets  to  an  important  region  of  the 
state  now  remote,  and  in  a  great  degree  sequestered.  Whenever 
this  is  the  case,  trade  is  in  some  degree  managed  by  barter  or  ex- 
change, as  a  substitute  for  circulating  medium.  The  impositions 
and  errors  that  necessarily  result  from  negotiations  transacted  with- 
out a  certain  standard  of  value,  are  injurious  to  morals  and  social 
harmony.  It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  that  during  four  months 
of  the  year,  when  our  navigation  is  obstructed  by  ice,  it  is  pecu- 
liarly requisite  that  our  highways  should  be  maintained  in  good  ^ 
condition. 

A  report  on  the  Cayuga  marshes  will  be  made  to  you  by  one  of 
our  most  able  civil  engineers.  And  if  it  should  prove  favourable 
to  the  practicability  of  the  contemplated  enterprise,  the  obvious  uti- 
lity will  be  recognised  in  promoting  the  public  health,  and  in  re- 
claiming a  considerable  portion  of  our  most  fertile  lands,  now  unfit 
for  cultivation. 

I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  our  salt  works  in  Onondaga 


20 


county.  By  proper  regulation  and  management,  the  whole  coun* 
try  maybe  supplied  with  this  indispensable  article,  at  the  cheapest 
rate,  and  a  revenue  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  may,  in  a  few  years, 
accrue  to  the  state.  A  board  of  commissioners  instituted  to  make 
the  necessary  investigations,  and  to  recommend  the  most  eligible 
system,  is  a  measure  well  worthy  your  attention. 

The  erection  of  wharves  and  other  accommodations  for  trade  on 
our  navigable  lakes,  will  be  promoted  by  investing  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  land-offices  with  the  like  powers  in  this  case,  as  in 
that  of  grants  under  the  waters  of  navigable  rivers,  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  adjacent  lands. 

I  intended  to  submit  to  you  some  observations  on  our  Penitentiary 
system;  but  I  understood  that  a  board  composed  of  intelligent 
men  have  been  charged  by  the  legislature  to  consider  this  subject, 
and  that  their  report  will  in  due  time  be  presented  to  you.  I  shall 
therefore  only  say  that  a  classification  of  offenders,  separate  dor- 
mitories, solitary  confinement,  and  steady  labour,  are  essential  to 
the  success  of  this  system,  and  that  it  may  be  so  administered  as 
to  afford  the  means  of  its  own  support  without  any  expense  to  the 
state.  Whenever  the  pardoning  power  has  been  extended  too 
far,  whether  in  consequence  of  recommendations  proceeding  from 
the  most  benevolent  feelings  in  some  instances,  or  from  the  crowd- 
ed state  of  the  prisons,  the  usefulness  of  the  Penitentiary  system 
has  been  impaired.  It  is  your  duty  to  provide  the  means  for  exe- 
cuting the  laws,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  see  them  executed.  And  I 
shall  certainly  exercise  the  prerogative  of  mercy  with  a  view  only 
to  the  legitimate  objects  of  punishment,  the  reformation  of  offend- 
ers, and  the  prevention  of  crimes. 

A  House  of  Refuge  for  the  reformation  of  juvenile  delinquents 
has  been  established  by  a  benevolent  association  in  the  city  of  New- 
York.  Its  objects  are  to  rescue  them  from  destruction  by  disci- 
plining them  in  virtuous  and  industrious  habits :  and  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  views  and  concerns  of  this  excellent  institution  will 
in  due  season  be  made  to  you.  Of  a  kin  to  this  establishment, 
and  with  a  preventive  as  well  as  a  remedial  tendency,  is  the  Or- 
phan Asylum  in  that  city,  under  the  auspices  of  females  of  distin- 
guished benevolence.  It  takes  under  its  protection  children  who 
have  been  left  in  an  orphan  state,  and  trains  them  up  in  the  paths 
of  virtue  and  usefulness.  The  Lunatic  Asylum  has  participated 
largely  in  the  bounty  of  the  state,  is  well  managed,  and  may  be 
justly  classed  among  our  most  important  charities.  Another  un- 
fortunate description  of  human  beings,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  are 
committed  to  the  instruction  of  a  laudable  institution  incorporated 
in  the  city  of  New-York,  which  will  apply  to  you  for  a  renewal 
and  modification  of  the  statute  passed  in  1822,  to  promote  the 
education  of  the  indigent  deaf  and  dumb  within  the  state.  That 
act  provides  for  four  pupils  from  each  senatorial  district,  and  au- 
thorizes their  support  from  the  state  treasury.  Twenty-seven  are 
now  in  the  school  as  state  pupils  ;  but  there  are  between  thirty 
and  forty  applicants  who  cannot  be  received  from  districts  that  have 


31 


the  prescribed  compliment,  and  vacant  districts  cannot  be  filled 
from  other  districts.  It  is  desirable  to  aug;ment  the  number  to  six 
from  each  district,  and  to  allow  vacancies  to  be  supplied  from  other 
districts,  when  there  are  no  applicants.  A  society  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, denominated  the  Central  Institution,  was  incorporated  in  1823, 
and  established  at  Canajoharie.  Of  its  condition  I  have  no  specific 
information.  When  the  census  is  taken,  it  will  be  useful  to  have 
an  enumeration  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  designating  their  sexes,  ages 
and  circumstances.  Information  of  their  ages  is  desirable,  because 
the  only  docile  objects  are  those  between  ten  and  twenty -five  years 
of  age  :  and  a  knowledge  of  their  means  of  support  is  necessary, 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  needful  extent  of  public  charity.  This 
has,  I  believe,  been  done  in  some  states.  In  Ohio  the  number 
was  found  to  be  423. 

An  enumeration  of  insane  persons  should  also  be  taken,  arrang- 
ing them  under  the  heads  of  criminal,  pauper,  and  in  good  circum- 
stances. The  criminal  lunatics  in  Great  Britain,  are  composed  of 
those  who  are  committed  under  the  statute,  against  disorderly  per- 
sons, and  of  another  class  for  which  I  believe  no  provision  has 
been  made  in  our  code  ;  and  which  ought  to[be  attended  to.  If  on 
the  trial  of  a  person  charged  with  treason,  nr.urder,  or  felony  in 
that  country,  a  defence  of  insanity  is  set  up,  and  if  the  jury  ac- 
quit the  prisoner  on  that  ground,  the  court  may,  notwithstanding, 
continue  him  in  confinement.  Too  much  praise  cannot  be  ascribed 
to  the  founders  and  patrons  of  these,  and  other  useful  charities.  If 
there  be  vices  which  inflict  their  own  punishment,  there  are  also 
virtues  which  dispense  their  own  rewards,  and  receive  the  venera- 
tion of  the  present  age,  the  benediction  of  posterity,  and  the  smiles 
of  approving  heaven. 

Judging  from  the  reports  of  the  Adjutant  General,  and  the  Com- 
missary General,  made  at  the  last  session,  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  state  of  our  militia  and  arsenals  is  flourishing.  The  im- 
portance of  these  objects  entitles  them  to  cordial  and  vio-ilant 
cultivation.  A  respectable  portion  of  our  fellow-citizens,  recom- 
mended to  our  favourable  notice  by  their  virtuous  lives,  exemplary 
habits  of  industry,  and  their  zealous  co-operation  in  all  benevolent 
undertakings,  are  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms,  and  to 
the  payment  of  fines  imposed  for  non-attendance  in  the  militia. 
A  complete  relief  can  only  be  effected  by  the  interposition  of  Con- 
gress, or  by  an  alteration  of  the  constitution  :  and  that  it  ought  to  be 
granted,  I  entertain  no  doubt.  A  sufficient  equivalent  is  already 
rendered  to  the  state  by  the  exclusive  support  of  their  own  poor, 
besides  their  full  participation  in  the  maintenance  of  the  poor  in 
general.  In  this  enlightenened  age,  when  the  rights  of  man  are 
fully  understood,  and  practically  asserted,  it  is  surely  not  compati- 
ble with  the  tolerant  and  liberal  spirit  of  the  times,  to  wound  the 
consciences  of  unoffending  fellow-men.  At  all  events,  it  lies  in 
your  power  to  guard  against  abuses  in  the  penal  inflictions  which 
it  is  believed  have,  in  some  instances,  been  carried  to  oppressive 
lengths. 


22 


During  your  session,  you  will  be  called  upon  to  elect  a  senator 
of  the  United  States.  I  need  not  enforce  the  consideration  which 
will  naturally  occur  to  you  on  this  interesting  occasion,  nor  urge 
the  expediency  of  selecting  a  person  of  great  experience  in  public 
affairs,  of  approved  capacity,  of  unquestionable  fidelity,  and  of 
distinguished  public  services.  Such  a  representative  is  alone 
worthy  of  the  state,  and  is  required  by  the  true  interests  of  the 
Union. 

The  reception  of  General  La  Fayette  has  been  equally  honour- 
able to  him  and  to  the  nation.  It  has  illustrated  the  good  feelings 
of  the  people,  rescued  free  governments  from  a  standing  reproach, 
and  inculcated  a  great  moral  lesson  on  the  world.  The  merits  of 
this  illustrious  man  are  embodied  in  the  leading  events  of  his  well- 
spent  life,  and  recorded  in  the  faithful  pages  of  history.  Although 
one  of  the  privileged  orders  of  France,  he  embarked  his  fortune, 
his  character,  and  his  life,  in  the  cause  of  our  Republic,  and  in  the 
very  crisis  of  its  fate.  During  the  revolutions  which  have  subse- 
quently agitated  Europe,  he  has  been  uniformly  the  intrepid,  the 
faithful  friend  of  freedom,  neither  turning  to  the  right  nor  to  the 
left,  but  marching  onward  in  the  great  cause  of  principle,  defying 
the  denunciations  of  jacobins,  and  encountering  the  frowns  of  ty- 
rants. During  his  short  residence  in  this  state,  he  was  received  by 
our  chief  magistrate,  by  our  municipal  authorities,  and  by  the  great 
body  of  the  people,  with  distinguished  respect.  His  old  compa- 
nions in  arms,  the  vyar-worn  soldiers  of  the  revolution,  and  the  ve- 
nerable patriots  of  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls,  gathered  around 
their  friend,  and  the  generations  that  had  sprung  up  in  his  absence, 
hailed  him  as  the  champion  of  liberty,  and  the  benefactor  of  the 
human  race.  It  remains  for  the  legislature  to  unite  in  the  general 
voice,  and  to  adopt  measures  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  worthy 
of  the  state.  The  recent  demonstrations  of  national  gratitude  re- 
flect honour  to  the  source,  and  render  justice  to  the  object,  and  are 
cheering  to  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 

The  most  friendly  feelings,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  exist  be- 
tween this  state  and  the  other  members  of  the  confederacy,  which, 
I  hope,  will  ever  prevail  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  sectional  jealou- 
sies and  geographical  prejudices.  Our  controversies  about  juris- 
diction and  territory,  have  been  definitively  settled  with  all,  except 
the  state  of  New-Jersey — and  seeing  no  reason  why  an  amicable 
adjustment  on  the  most  honourable  terms  should  not  be  effected, 
I  earnestly  recommend  that  provisions  be  made  for  the  purpose,  in 
accordance  with  the  law  passed  by  that  patriotic  state,  which  I 
shall  cause  to  be  laid  before  you. 

The  protection  of  our  great  commercial  emporium  from  pesti- 
lential disease  is  essential  to  the  general  welfare.  I  sincerely 
hope  that  the  prejudices  which  have  sometimes  arrayed  in  conten- 
tion with  each  other,  country  and  city  interests,  will  be  for  ever 
dismissed,  as  unworthy  of  the  good  sense  and  good  feelings  of  the 
community,  and  that  the  prosperity  of  each,  will  be  considered  the 


prosperity  of  both.  Our  Quarantine  laws  ought  to  be  executed  with 
vigilance  and  energy,  and  such  improvements  adopted,  as  will  ef- 
fectually guard  againstdanger  from  abroad  :  for  on  any  theory  that  has 
been  suggested,  a  precautionary  system  is  necessary,  whether  ma- 
lignant or  yellow  fever  is  propagated  by  specific  contagion,  or  in- 
troduced by  the  deleterious  state  of  vessels  and  cargoes. 

The  police  of  the  city  of  New- York  is  excellent  in  relation  to 
crimes ;  but  in  reference  to  health,  it  has  no  distinguished  merit. 
Without  good  water,  there  cannot  be  good  health  :  and  no  effectual 
provision  has  been  made  for  that  object.  It  may  be  laid  down  as 
an  incontrovertible  truth,  that  no  dense  population  can  furnish  from 
within  its  own  limits,  an  adequate  supply  of  this  indispensable  ac- 
commodation, with  reference  to  quality  and  quantity.  As  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  your  favourable  interposition,  I  trust  that  )^ou 
will  dispense  it  with  a  liberal  hand,  to  all  laudable  attempts,  whe- 
ther by  the  local  government,  by  private  associations,  or  by  enter- 
prising individuals,  to  furnish  a  sufficiency  not  only  for  all  domes- 
tic purposes,  but  for  public  baths,  for  cleansing  the  streets,  and  for 
the  general  purification  of  the  city. 

An  annual  law  is  generally  passed  authorizing  certain  aliens 
by  name,  to  take,  hold,  and  dTspose  of  real  estate,  in  like  manner 
as  natural  born  citizens.  Such  a  provision  is  proper,  and  operates 
as  an  encouragement  to  wholesome  emigration.  But  may  not 
this  object  be  more  effectually  and  comprehensively  attained  by 
passing  a  general  law  empowering  under  certain  restrictions  resi- 
dent aliens  to  enjoy  similar  privileges  ? 

Our  legal  rate  of  interest  for  money  was  established  at  a  remote 
period,  and  is  one  per  cent,  higher  than  in  some  of  the  most  flourish- 
ing states.  Your  attention  to  a  suitable  reduction  may  be  of  great 
benefit  to  the  public. 

The  mercantile  interest  are  greatly  aggrieved  by  the  law  relative 
to  merchants  and  factors  or  agents  as  recognised  in  England,  trans- 
ferred to  this  country,  and  incorporated  into  our  judicial  decisions. 
The  parent  case  on  this  subject  was  laid  down  by  Lord  Chief  Jus- 
tice Lee,  in  1742,  and  may  be  found  under  the  head  of  Patterson 
vs.  Tash,  in  the  second  volume  of  Strange's  Reports.  Although 
the  facts  of  the  case  do  not  appear,  and  the  adjudication  itself  is 
exhibited  in  a  suspicious  shape,  yet  it  has  been  implicitly  and 
servilely  adopted.  And  it  is  now  considered  as  settled  law,  that 
if  a  factor  pledges  the  goods  of  his  principal,  the  person  who  has 
advanced  money  upon  them  in  ignorance  of  his  being  a  factor,  can- 
not hold  the  goods  as  a  security  for  his  advances.  And  another 
rule  equally  exceptionable  has  been  established,  namely,  that  the 
factor  cannot  bind  his  principal  in  cases  in  which  the  bona  fide  pur- 
chaser can  have  no  means  of  discovering  the  extent  of  his  authority, 
or  the  fact  of  his  not  being  a  principal.  This  law  is  different 
from  that  of  France,  Russia,  Austria,  Spain,  the  Hanse-towns, 
Holland,  and  indeed  of  almost  all  Europe,  and  is  found  to  be  so 
pernicious  in  its  operations  in  Great  Britain,  that  a  bill  has  passed 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  will  probably  become  a  law,  confor- 


24 


mably  to  the  general  sense  of  commercial  countries. — In  mercan- 
tile arrangements,  it  frequently  occurs  that  there  are  several  ad- 
vances made  "between  the  shipment  and  sale  of  commodities,  by 
the  foreign  shipper  or  consignor  to  the  foreign  proprietor,  by  the 
consignee  to  the  consignor,  who  is  himself  a  factor,  and  by  some 
capitalist  to  the  factor,  in  consequence  of  a  difficulty  in  finding  a 
ready  and  advantageous  sale. — All  these  arrangements  for  the  con- 
venience of  commerce  are  impeded,  jeopardized,  and  frequently 
frustrated  by  the  existing  law  ;  and  our  merchants  are  now  placed 
in  a  most  peculiar  position.  Laws  operating  injuriously  on  indivi- 
duals and  on  commerce,  and  founded  solely  on  British  precedents, 
continue  in  force  with  us,  while  Oi'eat  Britain  has  found  the  same 
laws  so  inconvenient  and  unwise,  that  her  parliament  has  passed 
one  statute  and  is  about  to  pass  another  for  correcting  the  evil. 

Our  laws  in  relation  to  the  estates  of  intestates  and  testators  are 
of  similar  origin,  and  operate  in  many  cases  injuriously  on  the 
claims  of  justice  and  the  interests  of  society.  Why  should  there 
not  be  a  pro  rata  dispensation  of  payments  to  all  bona  fide  creditors^ 
without  any  reference  to  specialties  or  other  preferences,  as  now  re- 
cognised ?  And  might  not  salutary  rules  be  adopted  to  enforce  the 
prompt  settlement  of  estates,  and  tO  sanction  the  probate  of  wills, 
without  encountering  the  expense  and  delay,  which  are  now  just 
subjects  of  complaint?  Indeed  the  whole  system  of  our  jurispru- 
dence requires  revisal,  arrangement,  and  correction.  A  complete 
code  founded  on  the  salutary  principles  of  the  common  law,  adapt- 
ed to  the  interests  of  commerce  and  the  useful  arts,  the  state  of  so- 
ciety, the  nature  of  our  government,  and  embracing  those  improve- 
ments which  are  enjoined  by  enlightened  experience,  would  be  a 
public  blessing.  It  would  free  our  laws  from  uncertainty,  elevate 
a  liberal  and  honourable  profession,  and  utterly  destroy  judicial 
legislation,  which  is  fundamentally  at  war  with  the  genius  of  re- 
presentative government. 

You  will  excuse  me  for  adverting  to  a  subject  of  a  delicate  nature, 
but  which  is  so  very  important  that  I  cannot,  consistently  with  my 
sense  of  duty,  pass  it  over  in  silence.  The  mixture  of  incongruous 
subjects  in  the  same  bill,  has  always  been  considered  an  unsound 
mode  of  legislation.  Every  provision  ought  to  stand  on  its  own 
merits,  and  it  should  consequently  be  unconnected  with  irrelevant 
matter.  On  the  last  reading,  the  final  question  is  taken  on  the 
whole  bill.  When  compounded  of  various  matters,  it  may  be  im- 
properly forced  into  a  law  by  the  variety  and  extension  of  the  inte- 
rests which  it  propitiates.  At  one  time  this  mode  of  heterogene- 
ous legislation  was  carried  so  far  that  the  council  of  revision  during 
the  administration  of  my  venerable  relative,  objected  to  a  bill  on 
that  account.  The  practice  was  partially  discontinued  for  a  time, 
but  it  has  since  been  pursued  in  a  bill  necessary  to  be  passed  at  the 
close  of  every  session,  called  a  supply  bill,  and  which  sometimes 
contains  provisions  entirely  misplaced.  But  this  procedure  is  not 
so  pernicious  as  a  novel  practice  which  has  been  introduced  since 
the  adoption  of  the  present  constitution,  in  relation  to  certain 


35 


bills  which  cannot  become  laws  without  the  sanction  of  two-thirds 
of  each  branch  of  the  legislature.  It  was  formerly  laid  down  as 
a  sound  rule  of  legislation,  that  after  a  bill  was  rejected,  it  should 
not  be  reintroduced  the  same  session ;  and  that  after  one  recon- 
sideration, a  proposition  should  be  viewed  as  its  termination.  The 
object  of  these  regulations  was  to  guard  against  an  unnecessary- 
waste  of  time,  to  promote  economy,  and  prevent  the  introduction 
of  practices  incompatible  with  purity  and  good  order,  and  injuri- 
ous to  the  harmony  of  the  legislature.  What  is  well  considered 
does  not  require  frequent  reconsideration.  The  fair  object  of  the 
latter  is  to  introduce  new  light,  and  to  present  impressive  facts  and 
considerations  which  had  not  been  suggested  or  known  in  due  sea- 
son. For  the  last  two  sessions  of  the  legislature,  if  I  am  rightly  in- 
formed, it  has  been  customary,  after  the  rejection  of  a  bill  on  the 
third  reading,  for  the  want  of  the  requisite  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers, to  move  for  and  obtain  frequent  reconsiderations.  By  this 
means  a  number  of  bills  of  the  same  kind  are  accumulated  for 
passing,  and  the  object  for  which  a  reconsideration  is  granted,  is 
thus  defeated.  The  end  in  such  case  is  to  obtain  a  favourable  de- 
cision by  the  force  of  combination.  A  number  of  bills  are  brought 
up  at  one  time,  contending  for  priority ;  but  after  the  order  of  pre- 
cedence is  arcsuigcd;,  the^loneer  bill,  i£  succ^sftiii]^  op^;cVi  a  passage 
for  its^associates,  and  they  follow  triumphantly  in  its  train.  If  un- 
successful, then  they  are  postponed  to  a  more  favourable  opportunity* 
Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  dangerous  precedents  have  been  estab- 
lished? that  bills  have  passed  by  the  force  of  their  associates, 
not  by  their  merits?  and  that  public  confidence  is  shaken  in  the 
purity  of  such  proceedings  ?  After  this  exposition,  it  is  due  to  the 
respect  which  I  entertain  for  your  integrity,  patriotism,  and  intel" 
ligence,  to  express  my  conviction  that  you  will  discourage  prac- 
tices so  injurious  to  just  legislation,  and  derogatory  from  the  pub- 
lic welfare. 

Having  already  trespassed  on  your  time,  I  shall  reserve  for  fu- 
ture communication  such  other  subjects  as  may  be  deemed  worthy 
of  your  consideration. 

The  causes  which  led  to  our  divisions  and  distractions,  no  longer 
predominate.  We  are  emancipated  from  the  thraldom  of  a  system 
of  patronage  which  formed  a  component  part  of  our  former  consti- 
tution, and  whose  direct  tendency  and  inevitable  operation  were 
to  agitate  the  community  with  incessant  convulsions;  to  make 
personal  gratification  the  standard  of  political  orthodoxy  ;  to  ren- 
der the  state  the  victim  of  political  machinations  at  home  and  from 
abroad  :  and  to  convert  the  very  favours  conferred  by  its  bounty, 
intb  the  instruments  of  its  vassalage  and  degradation. — With  a 
full  view  of  these  evils,  I  recommended  at  an  early  period,  a  dif- 
ferent arrangement  of  the  appointing  power.  The  patronage  once 
vested  in  a  council  of  appointment  is  now  diffused  ;  and  political 
power,  which  under  the  former  order  of  things,  was  in  many  re- 
spects concentrated  in  petty  aristocracies,  and  wielded  by  factious 

4 


26 


combinations,  has  been  in  a  great  measure  restored  to  its  authentic 
source,  the  great  body  of  the  people.  That  abolition,  and  that 
restoration,  have  dissolved  the  union  between  personal  interest  and 
political  subserviency.  The  people  rising  in  the  majesty  of  their 
power,  above  the  debasing  trammels  of  names,  and  the  obnoxious 
dictations  of  combinations,  have  sustained  and  vindicated  a  system 
of  disenthralled  and  independent  suffrage.  And  the  auspicious  in- 
fluence of  this  magnanimous  course  will  be  witnessed  in  the  inde- 
pendence and  purity  of  the  elective  franchise,  in  the  talents  and 
integrity  of  our  legislative  assemblies,  and  in  the  correspondent  es- 
timation of  the  state  with  our  sister  republics,  and  in  the  councils 
of  the  Union.  We  possess  a  territory  of  great  extent ;  a  soil  of 
inexhaustible  fertility ;  a  climate  of  undoubted  salubrity ;  subter- 
ranean wealth  almost  boundless ;  incalculable  extent  of  manufac- 
turing power ;  positions  for  prosperous  commerce  unsurpassed  upon 
the  globe ;  vast  public  property  in  lands,  stocks,  and  canals ;  a  flou- 
rishing treasury ;  a  prospective  and  certain  revenue  of  millions ;  a 
system  of  laws  under  which  the  rights  of  persons  and  of  property 
are  secured,  and  still  susceptible  of  great  improvements.  And  above 
all,  may  we  not  say  without  arrogance  and  without  flattery,  that  our 
population  is  religious,  moral,  industrious,  intelligent,  enterpris- 
ing, highr^purited^iifM^Qfonndiy^aonsmiiMflia^  and 
its  blesSfiigs ;  -with  the  principles  and  feelings  of  freedom  engraft- 
ed into  its  moral  and  physical  being  ?  Enjoying,  as  we  do,  these 
transcendent  blessings,  it  remains  for  ourselves  to  determine  whe- 
ther we  are  worthy  of  the  career  which  the  Author  of  all  good  has 
opened  to  us ;  whether  we  have  wisdom  and  virtue  enough  to  be- 
come what  he  has  given  us  means,  and  indicated  as  his  wish,  that 
we  should  become,  a  main  pillar  in  the  great  and  glorious  fabric  of 
freedom  and  social  happiness,  reared  by  the  valour,  established  by 
the  wisdom,  and  cemented  by  the  blood  of  our  fathers ;  blessing  as 
we  are  blessed,  and  ministering  as  we  are  ministered  unto  ; — or 
whether  we  are  to  prove  recreant  to  these  elevated  and  imperative 
duties,  and  by  wasting  our  strength  and  sullying  our  character  in 
petty  cabals,  intrigues,  and  local  agitations,  commencing  in  folly  and 
terminating  in  disgrace,  we  cast  away  the  rich  bounties  of  Heaven, 
undermine  our  own  prosperity,  and  retard  the  establishment  of 
principles  associated  with  the  exalted  destinies  of  freedom,  and 
identified  with  the  primary  interests  of  the  human  race. 


DE  WITT  CLINTON, 

%filhany^  Ath  January,  1825. 


1 


